Europe’s set to ditch daylight-saving time – thanks to a Finnish citizens’ initiative

Every year in March and October, Europeans wind their their clocks forward or backward by one hour to adjust to daylight-saving time (DST). The intention is to reduce energy usage and associated costs, although evidence is inconclusive that changing the clocks actually has those effects.

Critics of DST furthermore argue that alternating between summer and winter time actually has adverse health effects, including increases in heart attacks and suicide.

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Traffic accidents during dark evenings and reduced productivity are also among the downsides of changing the clocks, according to opponents. And in northern countries like Finland and Sweden, little daylight is in fact saved during the long, dark winter months.

Finland adopted the daylight-saving time scheme back in 1981, but now the Finns have had enough of changing the clocks.

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In 2017, the country raised the question in parliament after 70,000 Finns signed a petition to end DST. A majority of MPs voted to abolish the system, but as a member of the EU Finland was unable to do so by itself – and so the citizens’ initiative was brought from Helsinki to the European Commission in Brussels.

After the issue was taken up by the Commission, a survey recently concluded that a whopping 84 percent of the 4.6 million respondents were in favour of scrapping daylight-saving time. On Friday, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the EU would propose an end to DST.

”The people want it, we’ll do it,” Juncker said according to Die Welt.

In order for the proposal to become law, all 28 member state governments plus the European Parliament need to support the decision. Should the EU decide to put an end to the clock changes, it has been suggested each member state will get to decide for itself whether it wants to opt for summer or winter time.

Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipilä told broadcaster YLE he was pleased with the outcome, but that he did not have a preference for winter or summer time.

”The most important thing is that we pick either time zone, I think it doesn’t matter to the people which one we choose.”

He added: ”As long as we don’t need to change the clocks that’s good enough.”